Help me
by Imnotcharlie
Summary: A mission turned out to be more difficult than expected. This leaves a horrible wound on Lucy.
1. Chapter 1

Lucy forced herself to keep on moving, even though it was hard to make her body obey her strong will.

Heavily breathing she hopelessly tried to make her trembling hands continue keeping her standing with support from the walls of the stone-build tunnel. The tunnel truly seemed endless in Lucy's eyes.

She knew that her wounds were terrible and she knew that they seriously needed to be taken care of. But something was wrong about the pained roar she had heard before. It had not been the usual battle-roar Natsu would let go off in the middle of a fight; it had somewhat sounded more like a cry for help.

Lucy knew that in the condition she was in right now, she would not be any help at all. But that was a fact she did not care one bit about. She just wanted to be sure that Natsu was okay, she could not stand the uneasy feeling in her chest, and that was why she kept her wounded body from falling.

Her body was worn out from the battle between her and a serious opponent. She had not expected that the ugly beast lurking in the tunnels under the enormous castle would be that big a deal.

She had felt so useful when she had told Erza, Jubia, Gray, Wendy, Charle, Happy and of course Natsu, to go on. She had promised a worried Jubia that she would catch up with them, refused Wendy's help (concluding that her skills were more used in the upcoming battles) and smiled gratefully at Erza's proud smirk.

What Lucy had not anticipated though, was that the mud-colored beast was going to be that difficult to kill.

She had used Aquarius, Gemini, Leo and Scorpios for pretty damn long time, and was now completely drained from magic and power.

She weakly wondered whether to just lay down in the water, that ran through the tunnels, letting the dirty stream clean her injuries or just keep on moving. Then another aching roar tore apart the air, sending a new wave of determinism through her.

Even if it was going to drain the very last string of power out of her, she was going to make sure Natsu was unharmed, or at least not dead.

Finally she caught sight of the end of the tunnel and the stairs that lead up to the hall. She guessed the others had been walking there hours earlier. She used the last shot of energy she had left to push herself up the stairs before collapsing into the enormous room.

Taking in the harm that had already been done to the place, she guessed that she was already where Natsu were fighting. Two of the walls were smashed into halves, and the stones that used to be one with the stone-barricade were spread across the matching stone-floor.

She could not take in the rest; her vision grew blurred as she desperately tried to find the familiar face she was looking for. Just the color pink would have made her hopefully cling to the hope that the roar she had heard before was just her imagination.

There. He was right there, looking at her with stunned eyes. His mouth moved, but she could not hear what he said, instead it tucked on the corner of her lips that he were not dead.

Even though he lied on the ground, brows furrowed as he yet again tried to call her, covered in bruises and blood, she knew he was well. What had she expected anyway? Of course he was alive! It was Natsu after all.

That roar had just freaked the hell out of her that was all.

She felt hot tears swell up in her eyes as she gratefully smiled to whatever kind of God that looked out for her and her friends like that.

* * *

He had not expected to see her there. Hell, he had not expected to see her at all before the fight with this shadow-electricity-man was over.

He did not know why she was there, or how she got to the entrance to the hall. All he knew was that she was covered in lots of injures, deep wounds and blood.

The smell of her blood made his nose feel like it tore apart. He felt the dizziness as he noticed just how much blood she was actually covered in. It was a sight he would never ever think of having to see.

"Lucy?" He yelled frustrated. He had some problem with his left leg; it had been plagued by a strange shadow-electricity magic, and God damn it was painful. But it felt like nothing compared to the pain he felt inside, seeing Lucy in her current state.

"LUCY!" he almost screamed before he saw tears stream down her face, and got seriously confused when a smile played on her lips. What the fuck was wrong with her?

He desperately tried to stand, crawling along the floor, trying to get to her. What the fuck was she playing at! And holy shit, he felt like giving away his injured leg if he got some fire to eat in return.

To say that he were not literally pissed off when that shadow-guy kicked him in the face, sending him into the wall in the opposite direction of Lucy, was a underestimating. He was ready to rip his head off.

If he had some god damn fire he could easily kick that guy's stinking ass!

"What're you doing, scum. You should focus on the fight instead of a woman!" he hovered, snorting arrogantly.

Natsu ignored him, his eyes was set on Lucy as she weakly glanced back at him. He removed some blood from the corner of his mouth, with his palm, before slowly getting up again.

It was as if realization suddenly hit him; she was in an awful state. So awful that she needed rest, bandages and probably a doctor too, and that had to be soon.

He stood up, forgetting about his pained leg and his own injuries; he was sure to live. But Lucy… It was as if her eyes slowly grew more and more lifeless, which frightened him. Those usually lively and determined eyes were slowly drained for life.

Making his way to her with quick steps, he felt the sudden urge to kill whatever or whoever did this to her. Was it that disgusting beast? The beast that smelled horrible? Had it really been that strong?

He stopped in his tracks as Lucy lifted her trembling hand from the ground, reaching out to him through her tears before being picked up into the air by the shadow-man.

The shadow-man wore a toothy grin as he made a shadow-sword, its blade thundering with electricity.

"I simply can't take that this girl is more worth your attention than I am." The man laughed, making the rage boil inside of Natsu.

"Put her down." Natsu dangerously growled. His aura quickly turning into murderously as he watched the man's grip around Lucy's neck tighten, and how her uneven breathing made the blood stream out of her open wounds.

"Ooooouh! Now you're serious, eh?" the man shot his head back with laughter. The grip around the vulnerable neck in his hands tightened even more if possible. Natsu's heart ached as he heard Lucy gasp for air, whimpering slightly. It stung his eyes seeing the way she frantically clutched the man's hand, trying to remove it from her fragile neck. And when she forced her tearstained face to look up at the man and pleadingly whispered:

"S-s-s-stop." So low and so soft that if Natsu hadn't got his inhuman hearing he probably would not have heard it, it was like a trigger going off. Flames building from nowhere, but his heart, surrounded him as he crazily lunged himself at the shadow-man who's laughter still had not died yet.

The man dodged the frightening attack that destroyed the last wall standing completely with a surprised expression. His face light up in a questioningly smirk as he watched Natsu hazardously make his way towards him again.

"Ohou! It is fascinating me how protective you are for this beautiful young lady." The man rasped softly caressing the weak form in his grasp. Natsu's eyes narrowed dangerously, rage now filling his whole being.

"I TOLD YOU TO PUT HER DOWN!" his voice thundered with fury, startling Lucy who had never seen him this angry. Not even that time he fought Gazille… Maybe this was the look Natsu had given Gerard? Feeling the firm hands around her neck tightening a little again, she winched and made a quick inhaling of air.

Natsu charged yet again, but the man dodged the horrifying flames that angrily tried to catch him again.

"It sure would be fun to see your reaction to death…" the man mused which made both Natsu and Lucy's eyes widen in shock.

Lucy herself did not believe it. The man holding her neck reeked of death, but somehow her heart managed to be calm anyway. She relied too much on Natsu, she really did. But she trusted him. He would stop the man before the dangerous electricity-filled shadow sword reached her body, she was sure of it.

As if realization had suddenly grabbed her shoulders and yelled angrily at her, she noticed just how far away Natsu was from them; no matter how fast he was, he would not reach them in time. She noticed how little power she had left, and how her own hold on the man's hands was beginning to betray her. She noticed just how freaking dangerous that sword looked, and how good the man seemed to control it.

She forced her teary face to look at Natsu. Natsu's insides tore completely apart when her frightened and oh so empty eyes locked with his. Her soft voice echoed loudly in his head, as if she was yelling the words at him, before the man sliced her directly into the stomach and a piercing scream ripped through the air.

His world went red. There were no other words to describe the sensation. Flames were everywhere, calculating themselves as their controllers heart desired. He watched her numb body sprawled on the floor, blood flooding the ground surrounding her, as her lifeless eyes stared into nothing, her soft voice still echoing.

"Help me."

* * *

Well, did you like it? : D

This was made out of pure boredom. I don't know if the magic the enemy uses already exists in Fairy Tail, which I really don't hope.

I am in the middle of writing a second chapter, but I don't know whether that would ruin the story or… yearh… Tell me what you think? : )


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** I really do hope that Polyushko is what the healing mage living in Magnolia's wood is named. I took the translation from Mangafox, from Vol. 7 chapter 51: Giant Shadow. This particular chapter has also been my source to the information about the old lady and magic in this chapter. So bear with me if this information is not right.  
**Rather important: **I know that some of you out there is expecting a chapter filled with action. I have to disappoint you. I am still studying English in school, and is therefore still learning. This means that I am not skilled enough, and does not feel ready, to write a serious fighting scene. If I had done it anyway, I had probably ruined the story. I am truly sorry for you guys who expected some good ol' badass Natsu, and if it was me who was reading this story, I would probably be a little disappointed. But trust me, it is for the best!

Anyway! I hope you will enjoy anyway! 

* * *

Polyushko had been in a terribly bad mood when Makarov had yet again disturbed the silence of her territory. It had been in the middle of the night, and she had been woken from her peaceful sleep. But just before she had begun yelling at the small man, an infamous Dragon Slayer showed up with a lifeless body in his hands.

She usually would not have taken in patients at such late hours, but the look on the Salamanders face when he looked at the form in his arms, had changed her mind. Makarov had looked sternly at her, pleadingly asked her to treat the girl's wounds, and Polyushko had done just that without complaint.

But it had turned out to be a difficult task.

Since that night two weeks had passed. The blond beauty still had not improved since the third day, where Polyushko and the Sky Dragon Slayer had succeeded in getting the girl's heart to pound steadily. She was stunned that the girl held so much determination. It was as if she could feel someone was trying to heal her.

Her once fragile heart that almost could not be heard was now thumping healthily. But the girl still had not woken up yet. Sometimes at night, few times at day, the girl would scream. At such times the wound would crackle with electricity. A painful sensation Polyushko and the Sky Dragon Slayer ought to stop.

It was those times the Natsu-boy would cry. He would watch Polyushko and his short friend in silence, tears streaming down his face, as they calmly tried to stop the crackles. Every time the poor girl screamed and cried the boy would hold his heart, clench his teeth and moan silently in pure despair.

Polyushko had stopped telling the boy to go home; he did not listen to her anyway. He stayed protectively by the girl's side, and Polyushko found that it was not _that _difficult to have the kid there. He was unusual quiet and did not disturb her or his friend's work.

The girl's other friends was loud though. They would barge into her house on the most unexpected times, and startle the poor healer. The first time that happened, was when the old woman was in the middle of treating the girl's heart on the first day of having her as patient. It had been Scarlet, Fullbuster and the queen of Seas from the elemental four, the two exceeds and the Sky Dragon Slayer, the healer Polyushko would soon ask for assistance.

Polyushko clearly remembered the terrified faces of the girl's friends when they saw her pale body. The silent cries coming from the Sky Dragon was unbearable. One of the exceeds cried together with the black-haired girl, while the other one kept its eyes downcast. The Sea-girl had had to walk outside as rain began pouring down from everywhere. The rain did not help the miserable mood as Scarlet demanded to know what had happened to her.

Polyushku had thereafter silently explained to the friends what she guessed had happened, since she had not been there to observe properly.

"_She was stabbed in the stomach with an unknown sword that releases both electricity- and shadowmagic. But before that she had been drained completely for magic. Since magic, for mages, is like their source of life, you have to consider when to stop using it. This girl did not do that. She forced herself too much." _After that Polyushko had removed the blanked covering Lucy's body, showing the bandage that neatly caressed her stomach.

Gray closed his eyes tightly while letting go of a silent gasp, having been silent up until now, as Polyushko removed the bandage. The wound was horrible, terrifying… it made Gray want to punish whoever had done it over and over again. He had to look away. He could not stand watching his friend with such injury. Looking to the side, he noticed the figure sitting near the bed. He was stunned to find that the figure was none other than the missing Salamander.

"_Natsu?"_ his voice had sounded bewildered, immediately gaining everybody's attention. Happy seemed both relieved to find his brother-like friend unharmed, while Erza watched sternly as Polyushko treated the wound. Natsu did not answer; his gaze the same place as Erza's.

"_Can… Can I… I help?"_ Wendy had silently, almost pleadingly, asked. Polyushko had first been surprised that the girl wanted to help even though the wound was this bad. But Polyushko knew what Sky Dragon magic could do, and therefore did not complain as she silently ordered the girl around.

"_Polyushko. If we too are to be at any help, do tell." _Erza had offered. This has made one of the cats silently whimper, desperately trying to remove its tears. Gray slowly backed away, frantically trying to find a place to sit. He could not stand this.

"_You can help me." _The old lady had spoke while filling Wendy with the information she had gained about the wound. Everyone, except Natsu, ripped their glances from their close comrade to the healer. "_Find information about this sword, or power, that has done this to her. It will make the healing and treating easier. You should also gather information about the… thing, she fought before being stabbed." _

The friends had done just that. Every day they would disturb the treating, explaining what little they had found out. It was at the end of the first week that a blue-haired girl had come to the rescue. She had cried uncontrollably when seeing the blond's state. The girl had kept crying out "_Lu-chan… Lu-chan… Lu-chan…" _over and over again. Polyushko noticed that this did not help the Salamander's mood.

When the girl had finally pulled herself together, she asked Polyushko to let her see the wound and fill her in about the girl's condition. The old lady had thereafter explained the little she knew, and had not seen the blue-haired girl for five days.

Polyushko believed that the girl had given up, and therefore got surprised when she opened her door due to a soft knock, and found the blue-haired girl smiling slightly back at her. She had five huge thick books under her arms, papers sticking out from every page. Her eyes was tired, but held hope and the hint of success. Behind her were Scarlet, Fullbuster, The queen of seas, the two exceeds and Makarov.

Polyushko had to admit that even though she hated to be near many people, she would bear with it this one time. The blond girl was going through something horrible, and the way the Salamander seemed to desperately observe her pain in any way possible, was something that tucked at her heart – but that was something she would never admit, of course.

"_Okay. Let's start with the beast Lu-chan fought before being stabbed." _The blue-haired girl, Levi, had started. She had quickly opened two books showing neatly drawn pictures of a demonic beast. She also found ten sheets of papers with hundredths of notes.

"_I asked Gray to describe the beast for me. At first I didn't believe the information I was given about such beast, and therefore asked Erza to also describe it. Both Gray and Erza's way of illustrating the beast lead to the beast you see on the drawings." _Levi pointed at the books, and even caught the Salamander's attention.

"_It looked like that." _The Sky Dragon stated in a frightened whisper, remembering the ugly beast. She had not believed that it would be hard to kill, and when Lucy had beamed at her, telling her to move on instead of worrying about her, she had ignored the uneasy feeling in her chest.

"_It haven't really got any specific magic or power, it is its shell that is special. In easy understanding-words, the shell is incredibly thick, like a magic shield or something. It is written that no magic or sword is able to get through this amour, and the books say nothing about a weak point due to missing information. I really can't understand how Lu-chan was able to kill it…" _The last phrase seemed to be more to herself as Makarov coughed, getting the girl to immediately return to her explanation.

"_Ah! Well… As we all now, Lu-chan did manage to kill it. Whatever she did to do just that, I hear from Polyushko-sama, drained her from magical power afterwards."_ Levi halted; nodding to Scarlet whose hand was raised.

"_If we, Gray, Wendy, Juvia, Happy, Charle and I, had been able to get there before Lucy was stabbed. Would she have survived?" _Her voice was stern, but her eyes held bitterness and guilt. Polyushko recognized those two feelings from the Salamander's eyes.  
"_She's not dead." _A hoarse voice spoke. Everyone removed their gazes from Levi to the once silent Fire Dragon Slayer.

Scarlet had been surprised to find her usual loud childhood friend completely silent and confined when they first got to Polyushko's house. She had tried to talk with him about what had happened, but he refused to answer her. Normally she would beat him if he did not reply, but the look in his eyes made her let it go. He would automatically come to her if he needed her to know, but it was somewhat nagging her that he would not tell anyone about it.

"_What?"_ She had asked while looking puzzled at the Salamander whose eyes were only on Erza.  
"_You make it sound like she's dead. She's not." _His gaze was harsh, looking straight into Scarlet's surprised eyes. Makarov coughed awkwardly, demanding the conversation they were all here for to go on. Polyushko quickly caught the message and calmly decided to answer Erza's question.

"_If you had been there to help her fight the beast, she would not have lost so much magical power and it would have helped the situation. If you had managed to stop the sword that had stabbed her in time, she would have been awake and healthy by now." _Polyushko knew that these words hurt the boy sitting beside her patient. But it was the truth, and truth hurts.

Everyone was silent for some time, taking in the information they had gotten. Erza especially thought about what Polyushko had said. They could have stopped it. Erza Scarlet could have stopped her comrade from hurting because of the near-death situation.

"_And the sword, Levi?" _Makarov gestured for the blue-haired girl to continue. She nodded quickly before opening the three other books she had with her, with quick and nervous fingers. She also swiftly gathered about 19 papers with notes on. She cleared her throat uncomfortably before starting.

"_I had troubles finding any information about the sword. But when seeing Lu-chan's wound I understood that the sword was made from the user's magic and is therefore very unique. This magic is called 'Derrotar' which means Destroy in Spanish. It is a combination of both shadow and electricity and a very powerful magic. When these elements reconcile… I don't even want to think about it." _Levi stopped for a moment looking through some of her notes.

"_I tried to understand why the wound is… this bad. It appears that 'Derrotar' can transfer some of its magic into another body, but if the body aren't used to the magic, it will react… the way Lu-chan's body do. I… I don't want to tell you this… but I think it's important… The wound can… can… explode, if that's the right word, if we don't do something soon." _Those words thundered throughout the Salamander's mind.

Erza looked down in sorrow, the Sky Dragon, one of the cats and the Queen of seas gasped and Fullbuster clenched his jaw tightly. Polyushko looked at the blue-haired girl in bewilderment and thereafter at Makarov who sat on one of the wood-tables with closed eyes. 

* * *

I'm so evil...! MOHA! Ah well, I hope you liked it. I would be more than glad to hear your opinion about the chapter, and is open for constructive critic.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Omg! FINALLY! Why on earth did it take me so long to write this chapter, you might be asking. Well... First; school have been killing the living shit out of me lately. Second; there were a few scenes in this chapter I found hard to write. I sure do hope everything turned out okay!

Hope you'll enjoy!

* * *

"_Explode?_" The Fire Dragon's voice was filled with shock. Polyushko could feel herself urging to ask the same. What was the meaning of this? Was that true? Would it explode? Why had she not gotten any signs of this reaction?

"_Polyushko. You informed me about those crackles of electricity the wound sometimes makes. It is written in this book._" The blue-haired girl held up one of the three books, pointing a finger at one of the aged pages "T_hat the symptoms that the blow up is nearing, is: crackles of electricity and shadows streaming out the wound._"

Polyushko immediately went to the girl's body, tearing off the blanket and the bandage. She studied the wound with restless eyes, searching for any good ideas to somehow save the girl from the wound. At least no shadows had begun pouring out of the wound yet.

"_Then why did the girl's treating seem to help?_" she muttered to herself wonderingly watching the edges of the wound with careful glances. The edges looked like they were in the middle of healing, thanks to the Sky Dragon's useful help. Then why was she being told that it was going to explode?

"_That is also explained in the book._" Levi quickly retorted "_It's says that the edges of the wound will shrink when nearing the explosion._" Polyushko ignored the way the blue-haired girl's voice was strained with tears. She let her fingers carefully touch the ends of the injury, which made the girl's body winch.

"_Stop that!_" The Salamander's voice raged, the outburst startling everyone but Polyushko. The old lady did the action one more time, closely observing the small crackles that rose from the wound. Thereafter she straightened her back before looking sternly back at the harsh eyes of the angered Fire Dragonslayer.

"_You want me to heal her, before this explosion is taking place. Am I right?_" She spoke monotonic, not removing her gaze from the broad person in front of her. He cast his eyes down, feeling slightly guilty for yelling at a person who had given their all to save his comrade. He had been witness to all the elder woman's hard work and should have known better than to yell at her.

"_I understand your despair, Dragneel. But right now, I am growing slightly tired of all you humans. I need time to think this over. Alone. And with alone, I mean completely by myself. Meaning that you Dragneel, will also be politely asked to leave my territory. Now._" Polyushko pointed strictly to the door. Makarov, immediately sensing Polyushko's need to ponder about the information just given, jumped down from the table and motioned for the others to leave with him.

Levi clumsily gathered all her papers, growing quite anxious due to Polyushko's cold stare. That lady really mastered some icy glares. Gray offered one long glance to Lucy's body, before running a hand through his hair with a depressive sigh. Juvia, forgetting to get angry that Lucy was gifted with a glance from Gray, removed a single tear before also making her way out of the small house.

"_Please… tell me if you need my help again._" The small Dragon Slayer offered in a frail voice, before following the group together with her cat. Erza and happy remained. Scarlet watched Natsu closely as his eyes ran across Lucy's features, his eyes filled with something she could not quite point out.

"_Natsu? Are you coming?_" Happy asked uneasily, ripping Natsu out of whatever thoughts he was having. His eyes were drained from emotion as he did not respond one of his most precious friends. He simply walked out of the small house for the first time in two weeks. Erza noticed Happy watching Natsu's back with hurt filling his eyes.

* * *

Gray tapped his fingers anxiously on the table he was sitting at. The continuous silence was slowly driving him mad. Even though everyone was quiet, it felt like they were screaming. It felt like the silence was making him deaf.

The news had reached the whole guild three days before. Makarov had wanted to keep Lucy's condition a secret until Levi had figured what had happened to her. Gray had wanted to let everyone know right away, but now knew why Makarov waited; he waited for the right words to tell the guild who was now in deep sorrow.

Even Mirajane had no smile on her face as she helplessly tried to serve her guild mates.

"Uhm… Mirajane? This is not… what I ordered." Droy mumbled, feeling slightly guilty for pointing it out when the most beloved woman in Fairy Tail was obviously miserable. Mirajane snapped her head in the direction of the plant-controller and made a shattered attempt to smile.

"Oh… I'm sorry Droy! Silly me! I'll go get you a new one." And with that the white-haired woman removed the plate she had just placed from the table. Elfman watched his sister with sadness filling his face as she gracefully moved to remake the plate for Droy.

Gray gritted his teeth, closing his eyes in frustration at how awkwardly and depressive the silence was. He hated this. He hated that he were not allowed to be beside one of his best friends when she needed him. He understood that Polyushko needed some alone time to think everything through, it just nagged him that Lucy was in such a bad state, and he were not there to help her through it. Not that he would be at any help…

Then the doors opened. Gray noticed that only few looked in the direction of the doors, and guessed that only few really cared who entered. Hoping to find something entertainment walking in from the outsides, he looked over his shoulder to see who had entered.

He sighed deeply, accepting that today would be just as long, boring and depressive as yesterday had been. That fire-breathing bastard added hundredth pounds of depression when walking into a room.

When most of the guild members noticed that it was Natsu who had entered, they followed him with uneasy gazes. Yesterday he had burnt three tables and half of Mirajane's bar because someone accidently mentioned Lucy. His close teammate truly was a touchy subject lately.

Gray also watched Natsu closely - not because he was afraid, but because he was concerned. He was never going to admit that out loud, of course, but the fire-head was truly making him anxious to know what had happened back on the mission. He was longing to know how Lucy had gotten her wound, and what had happened with the guy who had done it.

But asking was something Gray was too clever not to do. Not in the nearest future anyways.

"What can I get for you today, Natsu?" Mirajane asked in a too cheerful voice, unable to fake a smile and unable to ignore the tension filling the room. That was the mood Natsu brought with him lately. Tension… There were no other words to describe it. Everyone was nervous that if they said anything, it might tick off Natsu.

"Fire whiskey." Natsu's monotonous voice hoarsely spoke, making Mirajane nod quickly before serving her childhood friend. Gray, concluding that Natsu were not being entertaining enough to look at, went back to drumming his fingers on the table. He quickly noticed that Erza had chosen to stand, and was now standing beside him, a thoughtful look adoring her face.

"Stop!" Natsu roared, startling everyone, especially Mirajane who dropped the glass she was in the middle of cleaning. Gray stopped his drumming, stunned by the furious look in Natsu's eyes which demanded Gray's fingers to stiffen. He heard Erza sigh by his side, while she touched her forehead with her fingertips, clearly bothered.

"Natsu. We need to talk." The warrior announced, which made the Fire Dragon Slayer move his gaze from Gray to rest on the scarlet-haired woman. After a rather intents staring competition Natsu unwillingly rose from his chair and followed the Titania.

When Erza had leaded the two of them into a janitor closet-sized room, she waited for Natsu to enter before closing the door and switching on the dim lamp. She turned to Natsu, observing his tall person. It tucked at the corner of her lips that he had grown this much. He was almost a head taller than her now!

"Well?" Natsu impatiently spoke, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Erza frowned slightly at his attitude. This was going to be difficult, but she was dying to know what had happened. She wanted to know what Natsu had done to the hideous man he had decided to fight with. She wanted to know if she could have helped Lucy; if her presence had changed the scenario.

Natsu was the only source to this information, and he kept denying letting her know.

"I want to know what happened back then." Erza quickly observed the way Natsu frowned, eyes suddenly flaring with anger. "Everyone wants to know, Natsu."

"There's nothing to tell!" He barked, obviously lying. Erza closed her fists, feeling them shake from the pressure she was putting on them.

"There is, and you know it!" she claimed, not understanding why Natsu forcefully denied to open up to her. After some minutes in silence, which Erza used to calm her anger, she sighed deeply in an attempt to gain control of herself.

"Natsu, look. I do not understand why you will not open up to me, but you should be perfectly aware of how much this whole thing affects the guild too. We need to know what happened." Erza watched Natsu's expression harden as he turned his head away from her.

"Nothing happened." The lie was plain stupid, and he knew. Erza could not help but inhale sharply as frustration ran through her body. He was being childish!

"NATSU!" her voice boomed thickly, which made Natsu jump slightly in surprise snapping his head in her direction again. She finally caught his full attention.

"You're obviously having a hard time accepting this whole thing. But I and the rest of the guild for that matter, is sick of your manners. Can you not see how it is affecting the others too? Don't you feel we have the rights to know how Lucy got that wound?" By the mere mention of her name, Natsu frowned deeply, his expression turning dark.

"Lucy is also our comrade!" a deep uncomfortable silence filled the small room after that statement. Erza noticed with a bit of a shock that Natsu's closed fits was surrounded by flames. She realized that talking about Lucy, was probably not the best choice she had made that day.

He did not say anything as he turned around, destroying the wall between him and fresh air. He stepped out of the smoke, walking away soundlessly. Erza cursed under her breath watching flames growing from Natsu's body as he went. This did not go as she had expected.

* * *

Polyushko had always been a light sleeper. Therefore she often woke up late at night, longing for her hands to find something to do. She often mixed different medics, cures and venoms, but since the blond haired girl had landed in her care, it was her she had been taken care of late at night.

This night was no exception.

Making her way with stealthy moves, she gracefully grabbed her kerosene lamp and thereafter walked outside to gather some herbs. She had had a lot of things to think about that afternoon. How would she stop this explosion? Why had she not seen it coming? Could the girl be saved? Was the way she was treating the girl wrong? Why was the girl not waking up? What had actually happened to her?

Polyushko let go of a long strangled sigh. She carefully watched her herbs, wanting to pick out the right ones. She chose a dark red plant, and two flashy yellow ones. There was no way she was going to sleep that night anyway, so she decided to make an energy-adding mixture.

Slowly making her way back to her small house, she felt like her brain would soon give in due to all her thoughts. She had so many questions she could not answer, and she hated it. She was not used to have unanswered questions.

She entered her house with slow movements, suddenly feeling weak against whatever had infected the girl's body. Just as she was about to place her lamp on the table, she heard a deep sigh from the direction of her patient. Quickly holding out the lamp, letting its light allow her to see, she gasped. She almost dropped the kerosene lamp, as the broad person slowly turned around.

"Dragneel?" She asked in pure puzzlement, offering her clock a quick glance. It was way too late at night for her to deal with humans. Or rather, awake humans. He nodded indifferently before turning back to stare at the girl beneath him. Polyushko inwardly cried out in frustration of his presence.

"I made my point rather clear earlier today." The fact that the time had actually past midnight and a new day had actually started seemed worthlessly to Polyushko; she just wanted to be alone. Was that too much to ask for? When the boy did not answer, she tried once again. Did she really have to literally _shove_ him out of her house?

"Dragneel. I am asking you quite kindly to leave my home. Do you understand?" she tried to be nice. She really did. But this boy was playing with her temperament, pushing the wrong bottoms over and over again.

After a long time in silence she reached for her broom. If he was not going to willingly leave, she would force him.

"I'm not going anywhere." He stated firmly, which made Polyushko stop her plans of knocking out the poor teen. She watched his back questioningly, waiting for a reason as to why he denied leaving her alone for at least two days.

"Before the shadow-guy stabbed her… she begged for my help." His quivering voice did not go unnoticed by the elder woman as she listened to the new information he was giving her. From the sound of his voice she could tell that what he was about to reveal had bothered him to no end. She soundlessly approached him until she stood beside him watching his face sternly.

"Her eyes… It was the last time I saw them look at me without being… drained for life…" he touched her eyelids with such careful moves it made Polyushko want to hold her breath. She had never believed that the Dragon Slayer could touch something with such grace.

"When that guy stabbed her… I just can't forget her scream…" his voice croaked at the last sentence, tears now streaming down his face. He reached for the blonde's hand, and held it to his cheek. Small droplets made their way down her delicate arm.

"I was so angry…" he sobbed shielding his eyes from Polyushko's look. "I wanted to kill that guy over and over again. I don't remember what I did… I just remember everything being red…" The pink-haired woman lowered her gaze, not really knowing how to react or answer.

"When I had killed him… I melted the sword…" that phrase made Polyushko snap her head in his direction. He stared into the wall with a grim expression. "I was surprised that it was done so easy…" she immediately went to the door, running towards her herbs. It was rude to leave a conversation like that, but an idea had taken control of her actions.

In that five minutes it took to reach her herbs, billions of thoughts and theories ran through her mind. She picked five different kinds of fire-herbs, and ran to back the house again. The boy watched her with startled eyes as she ripped the door open, throwing herself into work.

After some time in silence Natsu actually turned his back to his comrade, and walked towards Polyushko. He watched her curiously while she threw around with orange and red colored herbs.

"What are you-" the elder woman cut him off by twirling around, looking at him. A hidden smirk planted itself on the wrinkled face, confusing Natsu to no end.

"Thanks to you, I figured a cure. But I need your help." Those simple words sounded so sure, so certain… Natsu could not help but let hope knock the air out of his lungs.

"H-how can _I_ help?" he barely whispered, making Polyushko point towards the blonde patient.

"I need you to burn the wound." 

* * *

Oh dear God... Can't believe I actually finished chapter 3! Now chapter 4 is waiting... I'm sad to tell you guys that chapter 4 will be a longer process, since school and friends is probably going to take much of my time lately. But I'm hoping of getting some time to write anyway!

- Hope the scene with Erza and Natsu was okay... I had a hard time writing it. I think I have rewritten it about 4 or 5 times, so I hope the final result is okay!


	4. Chapter 4

**Too long and boring A/N:** Okay guys! Here it is!

I'm sorry it took so long to update – or; longer than the last time. This week I had a practical experience (I had to look this word up and is not quite sure if it's right), or as they called it "I was an intern", and had to catch a train 07:03 am, and therefore had to get out of bed 05:30 am. Then I was free to go 14:00 pm and then had to wait for a train for about an hour. Then I would take a bus and walk a half kilometer before I would finally be home. The clock would be around 16:30 pm on a good day with no cancelled trains, and then I had work at 18:30 pm Tuesday and Thursday. Which means: **I. Had. No. Time. To. Continue. The. Story!**  
But to those who care: It was an really eventful week at (directly translated) Odense vocational school, on the Animation line. But I'm honestly glad to come back to my original school on Monday.  
**I am sad to tell you though, that I have a few important assignments waiting for me, but I hope that I will somehow still be able to write a little every day on chapter 5!**

But I hope you will enjoy! I had to force myself a little to get it done. Sometimes I would think "Damn. I don't feel for this story anymore..." then I would read the amazing feedback and reviews I've gotten so far for this story and my courage would return. I truly am grateful! Thank you very much!

(I've figured that 'Polyushko' can also be spelled in another way. I'm sorry if 'Polyushko' is **not **the right way, but I'm kinda too lazy to go back in the chapters to rewrite it – I hope you can bear with it!) 

* * *

Natsu stared at Polyushko with a look of pure disbelief. He was not sure whether he was dreaming or not. Maybe he was hallucinating? He had not slept well when he finally tried to find peace in sleeping. The woman simply turned back to working on her herbs, and ignored the baffled person beside her. She had not expected him to understand it right away.

"You want… me… to burn Lucy?" he croaked unsurely, wishing the old lady would laugh it off as a joke. But unfortunately she did not do that – it would have been rather uncharacteristically if she did anyway.

"I do not want you to burn the girl. I want you to burn the _wound_." She spoke the words slow enough for the idiot to understand, feeling herself grow slightly annoyed by his stubbornness.

He did not reply. He stared into the wall in front of him with huge eyes. Polyushko twirled around yet again and walked to her patient. She touched the girl's forehead, checking her temperature and sighed deeply.

"She is freezing every time you leave her side." Why she had not told the boy about this, she did not know. She guessed she had wanted him to leave her house so much that she had decided to keep the information to herself.

The Salamander rushed to the blonde's side, touching her shoulder. He clenched his teeth at how cold she was. If it was not for the low thumps of her heart, he would have thought she was actually dead. Why had he not noticed this?

While he silently transformed his heat to the girl beneath him, he watched Polyushko place the mixture, she had just made, on the wound with skilled hands.

"Mrs. McGarden said that the sword was made out of magic; the same magic that has infected the girl's body." The old woman did not care that the Salamander frowned confused by her words, she simply continued. "You said that you melted the sword. What happened after you melted it?" she did not turn to look at the Dragonslayer as he answered.

"I… It disappeared?" he answered uncertainly, not really getting why Polyushko wanted to know such an irrelevant and rather obvious thing. The old lady shot the Dragonslayer a stern glare. "Do you not get it boy?" she asked doubtfully earning a curious stare.

"The sword is made of the same magic that has made this wound." The woman pointed to the injury on the girl's stomach. "If you, with your magic, could make that sword disappear, then you can also make this wound disappear." Finally it seemed to make sense as the pink-haired boy's eyes grew wide while looking down at his precious comrade.

"It'll hurt her. I'll hurt her." He quickly spoke, his eyes revealing his inner dilemma. "I can't hurt her. _I can't_." Polyushko watched him caress the girl's cheek uneasily. Feeling the urge to roll her eyes, Polyushko slapped the boy over his head.

"Of course you can! You will have to hurt her if you want to save her!" it had been a long time since the elder woman had actually cheered on someone. The boy stared at her with an empty, and somewhat startled, expression before looking down at the girl again.

* * *

It was dark. It always was. Whenever her eyes opened she longed, hoped and wished so bitterly that light would find its way to her. She could not remember ever being afraid of the dark, but as she sat there in the nothingness, she trembled due to fear.

The first time she opened her eyes and saw nothing, was the worst though. She had thought she was blind; thought she would never see her surroundings ever again. That had made her cry.

But slowly she came to realize that she was not really awake. What made her believe that was the always returning thunder. Whenever the thunder came something darker than the dark would surround her. It would strangle her in a sickly way. It would send waves of unseen pain through her body. It would make her so terribly scared.

And then suddenly it would disappear.

But she was not stupid. She was aware of the thunder getting wilder and wilder for every time it came and that the mysterious shadow got closer and closer to make her want to give in.

She _had _tried to use her keys – of course. But they did not work. No matter how many times she silently cried out every one of her spirits' names, they never came. Betrayal had sometimes nagged at her heart, but she knew that her spirits did not do it on purpose. They would never betray her. _Never._

Right now nothing happened. She waited for something; sometimes the unexpected, sometimes the light… sometimes the sound of the thunder signaling that the pain was near. But what she waited for most of the time was Natsu.

God, just thinking his name made her wrench, tears threatening to fall.

She had been such a heartless fool asking for him to help her. She knew Natsu, and she knew that he was now blaming himself; whether he was beside her or in a different galaxy. For the millionth time she cried. Missing Natsu and her guild this much, was something she never thought she was even capable of.

She often caught herself whispering her guild mates' names. It was an unstable thing to do, but it did something to her that seemed to somehow cheer her up – if that was even possible. It made her hope that she was not dead…

Sometimes she would wonder if she was in hell. She _could_ be a little greedy and sinful. But if she had to be honest, she did not believe that she deserved hell. She sighed, resting her head on her knees tiredly. She was tired of continuously being strong against thunder, pain, darkness, hopes, dreams, loneliness, tears…

When the sound of thunder slowly reached her ears, she hugged her knees tightly in a protective manner. She prepared herself for the pain, which she sometimes dreamed would not come. But it always did, and it would always be more painful, sharper and deeper than the last time.

She quickly noticed the dark shadow creeping towards her. She had never believed that there was a color darker than black. That specific color was the color this shadow wore. It thrilled her to the bone, sending fear up and down her whole being. Her eyes observed the shadow closely from behind her arm. She had once tried to run from it, but of course it was faster than her.

Feeling entirely set to receive a pain angrier than the last time, it startled her when something lighted her surroundings; or rather the surroundings that were not there. The glow shocked her. She stared at it wide-eyed as she realized that it was a small flame.

"_Natsu?_" She asked no one in pure disbelief. Her voice was choked, sounding like a hoarse cat-yell. Desperately throwing herself in the direction of the warmth, tears furiously built highways down her cheeks. "_Natsu… Natsu!_" her voice was pathetic. It was filled with panic and anxiety. She was afraid that if she did not reach the flame soon, it would disappear and leave her alone in the darkness again.

A sudden pang of pain in her leg snapped her back to her actual situation. The shadow was swallowing her leg so slow that she wished for it to just go for the kill right away. But it did not do that. It was like it knew what was more painful.

Crawling along whatever floor she was located on, she helplessly tried to reach the flame. And when the shadow kept holding her back with such force that it froze her in position, she screamed on the top of her lungs.

"_NATSU! DON'T LEAVE ME!_"

* * *

The boy had done better than Polyushko had expected. Even though it was clear that he did not like burning the wound, he did as he was told. Sometimes though, she would caught him hesitate slightly. In these situations she had learned to simply ignore his whimpering murmurs and tears.

The first time he had burned the wound, he had continuously kept shutting his eyes – which had bothered Polyushko to no end.

She had constantly had to tell him things like: "_Open your eyes! You cannot do a proper job with your eyes closed_" and "_Do you want to help the girl? Yes? Then stop being dense and open your eyes!_"

But slowly he got better. It had already been two weeks since they started the treatment, and from what Levi could confirm, it looked like the wound healed. Of course the girl could not be sure, but she had searched through every single book since the last time she had been at Polyushko's house.

"_I've read pretty much every single book with the word 'Derrotar' in it, and from the information I've gathered that way, it really does look like its healing_." Polyushko would never mention that her heart fluttered at those words. She could not help but feel something between delight and triumph burn her lungs.

After that Natsu had been much more determined when treating the wound. But no matter how much confident the boy gathered he would waver violently the times the wound would crackle. Polyushko had tried to explain him that it would take time before the wound would stop doing that, but he had not listened to her and had then stopped the burning right away.

However that night the elder woman forced the boy to continue.

"Dragneel! If you do not do something right now, she will _suffer!_" the woman yelled angrily. "Are you not aware of how much she is hurting? If you will not help her I will have to find another method! And that will probably hurt her even more!" The boy was clearly frustrated. He wandered back and forth uneasily with quick steps. The pink-haired woman was becoming more and more annoyed by his actions.

She had been together with humans for far too long.

When the girl began to shed tears, both the woman and the boy froze. They stared at the girl's form as she wrenched and twisted on the bed she had been placed on for about a month. The elder woman snapped and quickly slapped the boy on the back of his head – a habit the woman did not know where had come from.

"Help her! _Now!_" It was like the salmon-haired boy woke from a trance. He watched the tears in pure despair, but Polyushko also recognized some hope; because even though tears were a sigh of pain and sadness, it was the first sign of the girl expressing herself.

The Dragon Slayer's hand was slowly surrounded by flames. His eyes were not looking at the wound; only at the tears the poor girl shed. Polyushko hated when the boy gave the blonde that intense look. The look would make a thick atmosphere invade the small house, which made Polyushko want to leave – which the woman did not like since it was her house.

"Focus on the wound!" she yelled sharply, quickly gaining the boy's attention. His eyes flickered from the girl's face, to the elder woman's face and then finally to the wound. He did not say anything as the girl's body began to tremble violently, and he hesitantly glanced towards Polyushko; unsure whether to continue or stop.

The old woman stared bewildered at the girl. It was the first time her reaction to the burning was this strong. Figuring that it might be a good thing that the girl reacted this way, she avoided the boy's glances. The girl gasped loudly, sweat forming on her forehead. This made Polyushko's eyes widen.

'_Why is she reacting this way?_' the woman thought curiously and truly befuddled.

It was when the girl clenched her teeth and screamed "_NATSU! DON'T LEAVE ME!_" with all her might, that Polyushko was sure that the treating was really helping.

The Natsu-boy was crying, of course; he sad helplessly by her side. He did not seem to really care that the crackle was fading, and instead fumbled timidly with his hands while staring dazed at his comrade. He would never leave her, and Polyushko knew it pained him to know that he could not tell her that before she woke up.

"She is doing better." The elder woman stated, talking more to herself than the boy beside her. "You should get yourself some sleep." She noted before gracefully walking towards her room.

"Why are you helping her?" he suddenly spoke in a low raspy whisper. The unexpected question surprised Polyushko. She looked over her shoulder to find the boy still staring at the girl, which made her wonder if the question had simply been her imagination. She thought about it for a short moment, before briefly answering.

"Because I have to."

And with those words Polyushko left Natsu mourning, crying and cursing to himself.

* * *

Time had passed; how much she did not know. But she was sure that even though it felt like years it was probably only a couple of weeks.

She was lying on the unknown surface. Staring into the darkness she waited almost impatiently for the fire. She was sure it would come; it always did. The thunder would always bring the flame with it. Every time the flame came it was bigger; and every time she was closer to get to it.

The shadow was always trying to hold her back from getting to the flame. But it was getting weaker and weaker against her determination and the flame's hands reaching out to her.

She missed him. She missed Natsu so much it made her cry just thinking about his dark eyes, his famous grin, his pink hair… his laughter… his sick ways of telling stories… his warmth…

Her heart ached which made her clench her teeth. It hurt. All the pain hurt.

"_Natsu…_" She mourned into the nothingness. Where was he? What was he doing right now? Was he laughing? Crying? Was he having fun? Did he miss her? Was he hurt? Could it be that this was just a nightmare? Was he waiting for at back at her apartment?

The questions gave her a headache as she continued to cry. She was tired of tearing up the whole time. But she could not do anything ells. She felt completely powerless.

Finally; the sound of thunder reached her ears, and she quickly came to stand. She looked around, searching desperately for the flame. She never knew where it would appear; she only knew that it would be closer to her than the last time.

Shuddering when she noticed the shadow in the distance, she felt panic overwhelm her. She hated that moment where she could only see the shadow, and not the flame. The moment was always long enough to make her believe that the flame would not come.

There it was.

She threw herself in the direction of the flame that had gotten noticeably bigger than the last time.

"_Natsu, Natsu, Natsu, Natsu, Natsu._" Over and over again this specific mantra was being whispered inside of her mind. She reached out towards the flame, feeling a pang of pain hit her as her fingertips touched some of the warmth.

She was startled by the sudden pain, quickly pulling her hand back. Why did it hurt? Why was Natsu hurting her? She felt panic swell up inside of her as she watched the shadow creep towards her.

"_Luce! Hang in there! I'm sorry! I hurt her! Polyushko! I hurt her!_"

His voice. Where did it come from? Was he beside her? Near her?

She looked around frantically, searching for the source of the voice she had missed so badly. Then the shadow caught her leg, which stunned her. She had not prepared herself for the sting of pain.

"_Lucy! I'm sorry!_"

It was him. It was his voice. Tears slid down her cheeks as she whimpered in both pain and confusion. Why could she not see him?

"_I told you it would hurt her! But you will have to do it anyway if you want to save her!_"

Lucy was frozen on the spot as the new unidentified voice echoed throughout the nothingness. Who was that? From what Lucy could confirm it was an elder person and a woman.

Natsu would _have_ to hurt her? Was it required? Natsu wanted to _save_ her? Save her from what exactly? The shadow? The thunder? The emptiness? The loneliness?

Lucy winched in pain as the shadow continued eating up her leg. She watched the flame as she realized that being burnt by Natsu was probably better than being eaten by an unknown shadow.

Therefore she stretched her arm out, letting the pain rip a scream out of her. 

* * *

END OF CHAPTER 4

And this is the part where my imagination has run out. I don't know what the f*ck is going to happen in the next chapter(s), but I'll probably (or rather; hopefully) come of with something like I usually do... I hope... Wish...

Well. Did you like? Yes/No? And why?


	5. Chapter 5

**PLEASE READ THIS: I am so terribly sorry guys. Oh. My. God. Seriously? You all kept on reading and reviewing? I AM SO GRATEFUL. SO. GRATEFUL. Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you to all you kind reviewers who kept on reviewing and giving me motivation. I am really sorry that I've been so slow updating this story, but this started out as something I wrote because I was bored, not something I planned on continue! **

**AND I AM VERY SORRY FOR NOT ANSWERING YOUR REVIEWS! It is not because I'm some mean reserved type of person, I've just been offline on this site for so long it should be punished.**

Well, I hope you guys will enjoy this. Even though it's short. And a bad end. But thanks to a kind reviewer whose motivation really got to me, I decided to end this ASP. I can now sleep with a good conscience tonight.

* * *

The guild had been one big gathering of hope and tears when Levi delivered the news about Lucy's state. The poor blue-head had spoken with tears of joy devouring her voice. Lucy had shown a lot of signs of being near consciousness lately, and that was the reason to Levi's happiness.

The bookworm strolled down the streets of Magnolia with the first beaming smile in weeks adoring her face. She was in a far better mood than she had expected – not that she minded at all!

She had decided to buy something for Polyushko. The poor soul had been forced to bear with having Natsu around her 24 hours every day, and Levi really sympathized with the elder woman. Sometimes Levi had to wonder how Lucy managed to stay sane with the foolish boy around her all the time.

Even Natsu's mood had improved the past week, and the usual spark of life in his eyes had somewhat returned. This spark had send waves of determinism through all of them – especially, dare she say, Polyushko.

The old lady thought she was good at hiding it. But somehow Levi always noticed the small smirk that crept onto the face of the pink-haired woman, whenever Natsu roared in joy when Lucy squirmed or gasped or did anything to prove to him that she was alive.

The injury was also fading. Slowly, yes, but it was fading. Natsu was so close – so goddamn close. Therefore Levi decided to buy Polyushko a present. She had to admit that she had no idea what to get the woman, therefore she had decided to buy her a book – something Levi was very good at. Buying books.

Mirajane had been preparing a huge party. Levi hated to admit that the guild, especially her and Mirajane, was a little too _eager_. It was not even sure yet whether Lucy would wake up or not. Polyushko _had_ told them about a possible coma. But that was a fact Levi decided to deny completely. Or at least ignored the best way possible.

* * *

Erza stared at Lucy's body in bewilderment.

Natsu was in the kitchen together with Polyushko, Happy and Wendy. Gray was outside with Juvia. The only one in the room beside her was Charlie. She was unsure whether it was simply her imagination, since Charlie had not shown any reaction of having seen the same as her.

Was she seeing things? Did she really miss Lucy that much?

Or had Lucy's body just flinched as if she was waking up?

"Urgh."

What an incredible sensation that ran through Erza's body. It felt like a huge bubble that surfaced in her stomach and spread throughout her veins. She could not hold back the gasp as she quickly threw herself towards the bed Lucy had been lying on for weeks. She did not care how out of character she must have looked, all she saw was her beautiful blonde friend.

"Polyushko!" She roared as Lucy frowned with her eyes closed. "POLYUSHKO!" the rosette almost shrieked, her body trembling as she tried to figure what to do. "GET IN HERE!" she hissed loudly, making Charlie finally get the situation. The white cat observed Erza as the woman seemed to be close to a mental break-down. Charlie guessed that since Erza was so used to having control of the situation, it bothered her that she did not know what to do about her friend.

"What?" Polyushko asked with her stern voice as her steady footsteps came into hearing. Right behind her was Wendy, Happy and Natsu, who all wore a confused expression; this sure was not a behavior the Titania used to show.

"Lucy! She just! She just! Her _voice_!" Natsu was at Lucy's side in an instant, and Polyushko frowned slightly at the rather short explanation she was given. But as her patient's hands began moving around, grapping the first thing they touched, Natsu's hand, she threw herself into action.

"Where… Where…" Lucy's voice croaked as her eyes suddenly fluttered open. "Where am I?" she muttered, pain overwhelming her body. She desperately tried to blink away the blur, hoping that she was not dreaming inside of her nightmare.

"Luce…" she heard him whisper. When she felt the hand she had just grabbed close around hers, she knew he was there. She immediately let go of tears. "Natsu!" she gasped as her eyes finally adjusted. Even through the tears she saw him. His hair. His eyes. His… _his_… tears…

Her eyes. Lucy's eyes. Brown chocolate filled eyes that held so much passion was finally open. Her voice. Her beautiful voice which he had missed in so many weeks was finally used. She was right there. Right before him lay the girl he could have never thought meant that much to him. Her absence had left a surprisingly deep scar which would probably never fade away.

"Why are you crying?" the blonde asked, her voice sore, as she tried to reach her hand up to his face, her intention being to wipe away those tears he shed, but the pain she was in would not allow it. He shook his head with that stupid trademark grin she had missed so badly.  
"It doesn't matter. You're awake!"

That was when Levi arrived. And that was when Gray and Juvia returned inside. That was when Fairy Tail got their teammate back. And that was when Natsu vowed to never allow _anything_ to _ever _hurt Lucy Heartfilia again.

And that was when Polyushko finally got back the silence of her property.

* * *

"Hey Natsu." Lucy said, smiling brightly up at her fierce teammate. The party was still going on strong inside of the guild, and Lucy had to admit that she felt a little ungrateful against Mira for just skipping out like this.

When she had returned, bandaged up like never before, she had not even comprehended how much pain she was in when the whole guild, one by one, had hugged her. She had cried her heart out, having never been so happy to see the faces of her guild mates again.

But, sadly, she was too tired to party the whole night. Therefore she had placed herself outside, allowing herself to catch her breath and realize that she was actually alive. She was not surprised that Natsu had followed her.

"Natsu?" she asked her smile slowly fading as his thoughtful expression was all he offered. She slowly rose to her feet, wrenching from the pain in her stomach. Natsu grabbed her arm firmly, helping her onto her feet, which she breathlessly thanked him for.

He observed her as she looked up at him, taking in her every feature with care. He was having a hard time realizing that she was actually standing right before him. Her beautiful eyes had been locked away from the outside world for so long, that he suddenly found himself lost in them. His hand slowly rose to touch her face, making it slowly dawn for him that she was alive.

"Natsuuuu?" she called silently, cutting off his thoughts. She was taken a little aback when his rough hand had touched her, but she did not want to scold him for it. When she finally caught his attention, she noted the well-hidden hint of sadness playing in his dark eyes. She sighed deeply as she lifted her arms with a careful move, placing her palms on each side of his head, somewhat hoping that her touch did to him what his had done to her.

"It was never your fault." She simply stated, surprising him greatly. "I should have never followed your scream. I was just afraid that you had been hurt, and I wanted to help you so badly, even though I knew I couldn't. I acted on a stupid thought." He stared at her for the briefest of moments before frowning and looking away. This made a concerned expression creep onto her face.

"I couldn't help you." He rasped out in a mutter, making her eyes widen. "You asked for my help. But I couldn't help you. I failed you… I…" before he could continue though, Lucy had pressed her lips against his own with such force and passion that he almost stumbled backwards. He quickly grabbed a hold on a table near them, afraid that his knees might give in on him.

"You did help me." She whispered against his lips. "You saved me Natsu. And even though I don't like to admit it, you always do. I'm grateful." He quickly caught her lips again so that she could not continue, sneaking his arms around her fragile being.

"You can never, _ever_, do something like that to me again." He whispered as he licked his lips. "Ever." He added, as if to make his point clear. She smiled up at him as she leaned in to rest her tired head on his broad chest. "I promise I won't."

* * *

**I am aware of the bad end. But at least I finished!**

You guys has been great throughout this story. I've learnt a lot about English grammar since the first chapter.

I will write a new fic about Natsu and Lucy someday – I have a few ideas. I hope you will support those fics as much as you have supported this.

Have a nice day!


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